Comfort And Joy
by wolfenqueenyuri
Summary: A quiet moment at a Christmas party turns into a moment of revelation. Golden Queen. Sequel to "Thievery" and "Unexpected Surprise"


Author's note: Unabashed Christmas fluff. I loved writing every minute of this and I hope everyone enjoys it ^_^

Comfort and Joy

"I thought I'd find you out here."

Her husband's voice jolted Regina Gold from her reverie, causing her to whirl around and face him with wide, startled eyes. "Aiden! You startled me."

"That wasn't my intention love," he smiled warmly and then moved towards her. "Did you come out here to escape the crowd?" he gestured back over his shoulder towards their mansion, where the Christmas party they were throwing for the entire town was continuing.

Regina relaxed and managed a smile when Aiden came up behind her, circled his arms around her waist, and then squeezed her back gently towards him and pressed a light kiss to her shoulder.

"It was getting a bit claustrophobic in there," she admitted, leaning back into him instinctively. "I just needed to get some air."

"Belle mentioned you were looking a little pale earlier," there was concern laced in his tone as he wrapped them both up in the warm wool fabric of his black overcoat. "She was worried you were coming down with something."

Regina shook her head. "No, I just felt a little light headed. It was probably due to nerves."

"Whatever do you have to be nervous about?" Aiden tisked, nuzzling sweetly at her hair. "You pulled this entire thing off without a hitch, and even your mother and that pirate boyfriend of hers are behaving themselves."

"A Christmas miracle if ever there was one," Sighing, the sorceress tilted her head slightly in order to gaze up at the stars, content to remain in her lover's embrace for as long as possible. "Although that might have more to do with Belle _punching_ him than anything else."

"Do I _want_ to know?"

"I'm not sure I do," she shook her head, her lips quirking upwards at the memory. "Although I was glad Ruby caught it all on video."

"Of course. It's not every day you see your librarian girlfriend knock out a grown man that's much bigger and stronger than she is," Aiden chuckled quietly. "If I were Ruby I'd have done the same thing."

A giggle escaped the woman in his arms and she twisted in order to look at him. "It's certainly been a memorable night, that's for sure."

He grinned and leaned in, the pair meeting in a tender kiss that lasted as long as possible until Regina pulled back for air.

He quirked an eyebrow when she bit at her lower lip: a habit that he knew came with anxiety. "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath before looking deeply into his eyes. "It's about your Christmas gift…"

He placed his fingers over her lips to shush her. "Don't worry about that. I'm sure I'll love whatever it is because it came from you."

Regina laced the fingers of his free hand with hers, and brought his hand up to her mouth in order to place a light kiss on his knuckles. "Even if you have to wait nine months for it to arrive?"

He blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She took another deep breath, and then announced: "I'm pregnant."

Aiden went completely silent, his dark eyes slowly widening with realization.

He looked so adorably stunned that Regina had to bite back a laugh. "Say something."

The pawnbroker opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to form coherent words.

She wished that she had a camera. It was such a rare instance for him to be shocked into silence.

"I…you…I think I need to sit down," he finally managed, and Regina didn't hesitate in guiding him over to a bench so he could process his thoughts.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke again. "When?"

"I took a test this morning."

"And you're absolutely certain?"

"I made an appointment with Dr. Whale, just to make sure, but yes: I'm pretty positive."

He met her eyes for what seemed like forever, and then, to her delight, he pulled her close for a kiss that properly expressed what words could not.

Regina practically melted against him, her fingers weaving into his hair to tug him fully against her as they embraced with growing passion, and when she pulled back to catch her breath, she saw that his eyes were shining with happy tears.

"I can't believe we're going to have a baby," he murmured, caressing over her face before pressing his lips to her temple sweetly.

She chuckled. "Hey, it was your idea, remember?"

"Yes, but I still can't believe this is happening so quickly," he confessed, nudging her nose with his before capturing her lips in another kiss. "This is, hands down, the best gift you've ever given me."

"Oh?" her tone became coy. "Even better than what I gave you on our first Christmas together?"

He paused as an incredibly pleasant memory that involved a warm fire, a bed of furs, and the pair of them making love for hours on end invaded his mind. "...This is, hands down, _tied_ with the best gift you've ever given me."

Regina threw her head back and laughed brightly, and then coaxed at his mouth with hers. "Well, once everyone's gone home…I'm more than happy to repeat our original gift giving. After all, we have reason to celebrate."

Aiden smirked and returned her kiss eagerly to show just how much he liked her line of thinking. "Consider it a date."

She grinned and was about to draw him into her arms again, when suddenly her gaze lit up in joy as she noticed a shift in the weather. "Look! It's snowing!"

He chuckled as she stood and then began to spin around, tilting her head back and laughing as the tiny white flakes of snow melted against her skin.

"Do you like your present?" he asked after a few moments.

She stopped and met his eyes. "You're doing this?" she gestured at the sky.

"You always loved the snow…even if your arch-nemesis is named for it," he rose to his feet and crossed over to her. "And I wanted to give you something you'd always remember."

Regina smiled and placed one hand over her stomach, reaching out with her other towards him. "You already have, my love."

He grinned at her before entwining their fingers together, and then he tugged her into his arms for another passion-filled kiss that told her that how excited he was to begin the new chapter of their life together.

And as far as Regina was concerned: that was the best gift of all.

The End


End file.
